Subscapularis – Self-Care

Most activities that aggravate this muscle involve raising your arm or reaching out to the side and back. This includes: pitching, reaching behind the car seat, accessing the nightstand from the bed, etc. When the subscapularis muscle is particularly tight, it will be painful and irritating to lift the arm only as far as shoulder level.

Sleeping on this shoulder with the hand in front of you often makes this worse. It may not bother you while you are sleeping, but the activities of daily living may grow more restricted.

Since this muscle is in the armpit, IcyHot cream may be bothersome there. However, if it doesn’t bother you, the application will help.

The Shoulder Snooze

Here’s another quick fix: lay like this for about 5 minutes.

Lay so that the shoulder bothering you is planted on a fairly firm surface. Make sure the arm and hand are behind you. What you are doing is gently pushing the shoulder in question back. It’ll be tender for the first few minutes. Then, it’ll relax and soften. That’s the head of the humerus moving back into position. This is a great position to maintain for sleeping, as well.

Gentle Start

The tendon in this pain pattern can be sensitive and easily irritated. Start by using some gentle doorway stretches. At first, try the stretches keeping your elbows level with your shoulders. After that opens things up, raise your elbows to add a little extra stretch to the subscapularis.

Ice-and-stretch makes this faster, more effective, and less likely to irritate the shoulder. Swipe the ice along the shoulder blade in the armpit. OK, it will be uncomfortably cold, but it’ll really make a real difference.

The Master Stretch

Aaron Mattes has a full shoulder routine in his book on Active Isolated Stretching. It’s worth doing the whole routine. I’ve walked through it with many patients and it really works.

This is the most specific stretch for subscapularis. It opens those external rotators, as well as the coracobrachialis muscle.

Mattes really gets it right and that’s a bit unusual. I’ve reviewed a lot of these stretches on the web. There are many variations that are easier, more convenient or just different.

This is a common golfer stretch. The club is easier and more convenient to handle than the rope in Mattes’ stretch.

But there are problems with most of the variations. In this one, the elbow is facing forward instead of out to the side. it makes the stretch easier and less likely to irritate the shoulder, but a bit less effective.

That is because the golf club – or broom or staff – makes it easy to assist the stretch too much. Therefore, it is also easier to actually aggravate the problem.

The other common problem is that the elbow is bent too sharply. When the angle of the elbow is less than 90 degrees, the shoulder is more resistant to stretch. As well, it is easier to aggravate the elbow.

A few yoga poses target posterior shoulder muscles but it is harder to find ones that target supraspinatus and subscapularis. Chest openers like camel pose are helpful.

Cow pose is the most common approach to dealing with external rotators like subscapularis. It also opens the long head of the triceps.

Mattes suggests using a rope or yoga strap for those who can’t get their hands together behind their back.

Eagle pose is another approach to stretching subscapularis. This “seated cow pose with eagle arms” is easier than the full pose. Focusing on the shoulder stretch can be difficult if you’re struggling with balancing on folded legs. This pose allows you to externally rotate the arm on top to create some stretch of subscapularis.

Cranio Cradle Cup

This mug has classic, colorful illustrations of the craniosacral system and vault hold #3. It makes a great gift and conversation piece.